Chapter one of the anticipated Champions League final at the Santiago Bernabeu between Real Madrid and Manchester City ended in a 1-1 draw and everything was open for next week's rematch in England. The game was interesting, but not vibrant. Maybe because the best is yet to happen.
Playing against Real Madrid in the Champions League is the closest thing to impotence. It demoralizes to have the Spanish cast in front of him, especially since he is in charge of that wise coach named Carlo Ancelotti. You don't have to be a dedicated student of the game to understand what Real will do during the 90 minutes. But it is impossible to counter. There is some magic in what happens with meringues. Because not even the best of all, Pep Guardiola, has the recipe to deal with what everyone knows is going to happen.
Resignation lashes out, then. Those meaningless passes with which Manchester City finished in the first half were the product of anger. The same thing that Jack Grealish put to Dani Carvajal. Real Madrid's strategy sucks your energy, it makes you look lost, aimless.
He gave the ball and the space to the Spanish team, let the English stand high and make their game of touches. Those led by Guardiola sought to pass quickly to the rival field to handle possession from there. John Stones was defender for the first outing and central midfielder for the long elaboration. And it was good in City's first quarter of an hour: it made Thibaut Courtois work a lot, who almost always responds. They tested Kevin De Bruyne and Rodri from outside and the Belgian cleared the corner. He also had a pair Erling Haaland, but defined with weakness.
Real Madrid was planted with a 4-3-3 that at times was a 4-1-4-1 or a 4-2-3-1. Modric started as an inside left and broke off as a hooker. Subtleties of top-level football. But the main thing was that you can also make a neighborhood party: hand over tenure and wait patiently. In the end, what works best for Madrid.
Photo: EFE/Kiko Huesca
He fought the place, put on a bad face. Antonio Rüdiger (replaced the suspended Militao and had a great performance) faced Haaland in the first one they collided. With the passing of the minutes, those led by Ancelotti were feeling more comfortable. City couldn't find spaces. And Eduardo Camavinga, a central midfielder turned left-back, began to take off. With a couple of runs that ended in nothing, the Frenchman warned. Until the 35th minute he made a wall with Modric (Rodri and Walker were disengaged), he went up the field several meters, left it to Vinicius and the Brazilian hung it from the right corner of Ederson with a powerful shot from outside. It was a perfect counter. The blow was given; The spider had bitten. Demoralization was underway.
Real Madrid came out better in the complement, more confident, arrogant. He even advanced a few meters on the field of play and even disputed the possession to City (he finished 56 to 44 in favor of the visitor). And it was closer to the second than the English of the tie. But at this level, the maximum on the planet, one detail is everything.
Photo: EFE/Juanjo Martín
Camavinga delivered badly and Rodri, that midfielder who increasingly emulates Sergio Busquets, was astute to anticipate the pass to the center. That action, that recovery, was vital because Madrid was out of trouble. Later, Gündogan left it to De Bruyne who took a cartoon rejection: it resembled the Tiger Shot, a shot popularized by Steve Hyuga of the Super Champions (or Captain Tsubasa), that anime that is still all the rage in the world. Yes, it was a great goal. The feeling was that only a perfect shot was going to be able to hit Courtois.
In the end, the place was a little more animated. Ederson had a couple of good saves. Guardiola opted not to make changes and Julian Alvarez watched the entire duel from the bench.
The game cost City a little more than Madrid because it could not be imposed: it did not have great fluidity in the passes. He failed to attend Haaland, moreover. Gündogan was erratic and the wingers, Grealish and Silva, did not weigh. That is why equality suited better to those commanded by Guardiola, who will play the rematch in their stadium ...
